✓𝐀𝐬 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐄𝐱𝐢𝐬𝐭 『𝑀𝑜𝑛𝑘𝑒𝑦 𝐾𝑖𝑛𝑔』

𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒆𝒓 20

Tightrope of Trust

"𝑨𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒊𝒏𝒗𝒐𝒍𝒗𝒆𝒔 𝒗𝒖𝒍𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒃𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒌, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕 𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒊𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒏𝒐 𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒃𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒐𝒇 𝒃𝒆𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒍."
- 𝑹𝒐𝒃𝒆𝒓𝒕 𝑪. 𝑺𝒐𝒍𝒐𝒎𝒐𝒏

≿━━━━༺❀༻━━━━≾

Ying Xiu gazed at the steady flow of water, deep in thought. She glanced at the black-furred simian beside her on the moss-covered steps leading to its center. "Is this it?"

Macaque nodded, a small smile playing at the corners of his lips. "Exactly. This is Monkey King's domain. His personal sanctuary, protected by a powerful seal accessible only to him and a select few. Although... it's mostly just MK these days, so I'm not entirely sure," he added with a shrug.

"And we can breach it?" she asked, a hint of skepticism in her voice.

"Supposedly."

"How is that reassuring?" Ying Xiu crossed her arms. "For all I know, this seal could blow us to bits as soon as we're near."

"That only happened to you because Wukong made sure you won't have your weapons," Macaque chuckled. "Why don't you give this one a try?"

"As far as I know, I'm not as durable as you, who narrowly escaped death by an inch," Ying Xiu retorted.

"Well, you survived the first one too, didn't you?" Macaque grew tired of the conversation and simply pushed her forward, almost causing her to stumble into the water. "Go on. I'm sure Wukong isn't stupid enough to create a seal that would blast away mere mortals."

And once again, Macaque's underlying insult didn't go unnoticed. Ying Xiu stepped onto another rock, putting some distance between herself and him. She found herself even closer to the waterfall that blocked the entrance to the cave. Water dripped down onto her face as she looked up, feeling uncertain about what she was supposed to do next. Tentatively, she reached out her hand towards the water, only to encounter a golden circle.

The seal activated, emitting a melodic tune as it resonated on her palm. It split open to reveal a path leading into the cave, promising all they had ever hoped for.

Her face lit up in amazement and surprise at what she had accomplished. "Woah..."

Macaque let out a breath of relief. He walked straight into the entrance and placed a hand on her shoulder, giving it a firm squeeze. "Good job, Ying Xiu. Now let's go get those blades."

"W-Wait. How come I-" Ying Xiu frowned as she found herself left alone, the simian already disappearing through his portal to reach his destination quickly.

Trespassing in Monkey King's domain was risky, and there was no telling when he might appear. If she were caught with the supposed enemy, would she face his wrath alongside him?

A shiver ran up her spine as Ying Xiu entered the cave, her gaze curious as she observed the vines shrouding the entrance walls, creeping even onto the ropes holding together a suspiciously creaky old bridge. She turned her head to the side to gauge its steepness and instantly regretted it as a wooden plank cracked under her foot, forcing her to run forward to the other side. "Less sightseeing, more walking," she mumbled to herself before continuing her trek.

Beyond the curtain of vines lay a spacious area, with walls adorned with images depicting the Monkey King and the main protagonists of the epic tale Journey to the West. They all appeared heroic, and the thought of being in danger with one of their crew seemed unimaginable. However, Ying Xiu couldn't forget that the Monkey King hadn't always been on the side of good; he had to be subdued by the monk in order to change throughout the journey.